La maison pour laquelle j’économise est à la campagne.

The house for which I am saving is in the countryside.

Breakdown of La maison pour laquelle j’économise est à la campagne.

• je: I
• être: to be
• la maison: the house
• à: in
• la campagne: the countryside
• économiser: to save
• pour laquelle: for which

Questions & Answers about La maison pour laquelle j’économise est à la campagne.

What does pour laquelle mean here, and what is its role in the sentence?

Pour laquelle is a relative pronoun phrase that literally means “for which”.

• La maison = the house
• pour laquelle j’économise = for which I am saving (money)
• Whole structure: La maison [pour laquelle j’économise] est à la campagne.
  → “The house [that I’m saving for] is in the countryside.”

So pour laquelle links la maison to the clause j’économise, and shows the relationship “I am saving money for that house.”

Why is it laquelle and not lequel or lesquels?

Laquelle must agree in gender and number with its antecedent, la maison.

• maison is feminine singular → la maison
• The corresponding form of lequel is:
  • masculine singular: lequel
  • feminine singular: laquelle
  • masculine plural: lesquels
  • feminine plural: lesquelles

Since maison is feminine singular, you must use laquelle:

• La maison pour laquelle j’économise… ✅
• La maison pour lequel j’économise… ❌
• Les maisons pour lesquelles j’économise… (if it were plural) ✅

Why does the preposition pour come before laquelle? In English we say “the house I’m saving for,” with for at the end.

French does not allow preposition stranding (leaving the preposition at the end of the clause), unlike English.

So English:

• “the house I’m saving for” → preposition at the end

In French, the preposition must stay in front of the relative pronoun:

• La maison pour laquelle j’économise… ✅
• La maison que j’économise pour… ❌ (sounds very wrong in French)

Pattern to remember:
[noun] + [preposition] + [lequel/laquelle/etc.] + [clause]
e.g. La ville dans laquelle j’habite, la raison pour laquelle je suis venu, etc.

Could we replace pour laquelle with que or dont?

No, not in this sentence.

1. Que

   • Que cannot follow a preposition (pour que changes the structure completely).
   • La maison que j’économise pour ❌ (wrong structure in French)
   • Pour que j’économise would mean “so that I save (money)”, introducing a purpose clause, not describing the house.

2. Dont

   • Dont is used when the verb or expression uses de (e.g. parler de, se souvenir de, avoir besoin de).
   • Here, the verb is économiser pour (save for), with pour, not de.
   • So la maison dont j’économise ❌ doesn’t work, because dont cannot replace pour.

For pour, you need pour lequel / laquelle / lesquels / lesquelles.

Could we say La maison pour qui j’économise instead of pour laquelle?

Not with maison.

• Pour qui is used with people:
  • Les enfants pour qui j’économise = “the children I’m saving for”
• Lequel / laquelle (and its forms) are used for things.

Since maison is a thing, you should use pour laquelle:

• La maison pour laquelle j’économise ✅
• La maison pour qui j’économise ❌

If you said pour qui j’économise, people would expect the antecedent to be a person or people, not a house.

Why is the verb j’économise used here instead of something like je sauve or je garde for “I’m saving (money)”?

In French, different verbs cover different meanings of “save”:

• économiser = to save (money, energy, resources) by not spending/using it
  
  • J’économise pour une maison. = “I’m saving (money) for a house.”
• faire des économies = to save money (very common expression)
  
  • Je fais des économies pour une maison.
• sauver = to save in the sense of rescue
  
  • sauver quelqu’un = to save someone’s life
• garder = to keep, hold on to
  
  • Je garde l’argent. = I’m keeping the money (not necessarily “saving up”).

So for putting money aside for a goal, économiser (or faire des économies) is the natural choice, not sauver or garder.

Is there a difference between j’économise and je fais des économies?

Yes, but it’s subtle, and both are correct here.

• J’économise

  • Verb: économiser
  • Often followed by an object: J’économise de l’argent.
  • In this sentence, the object (de l’argent) is understood and omitted.

• Je fais des économies

  • Literally “I make savings.”
  • Very common in everyday French for saving money regularly.

You could say:

• La maison pour laquelle je fais des économies est à la campagne. ✅
  This is slightly more idiomatic in casual speech, but j’économise is also fine.

Why is it la maison and not just maison as in English when we say “House” or “Home”?

French almost always requires an article (definite or indefinite) before a singular noun.

In this sentence:

• You’re talking about a specific house you have in mind → the house
• So French uses la maison (definite article).

You cannot simply say Maison pour laquelle j’économise est à la campagne ❌; that sounds incomplete. You need:

• La maison pour laquelle j’économise… ✅

French only drops the article in a few special cases (headlines, set expressions, some professions, etc.), but not here.

Why is it à la campagne instead of dans la campagne or en campagne?

À la campagne is the standard idiomatic way to say “in the countryside.”

• à la campagne

  • Means “in the countryside / in a rural area” in a general, environmental sense.
  • J’habite à la campagne. = I live in the countryside.

• dans la campagne

  • More literal: physically in the fields/rural area, often with a contrast or strong emphasis on location.
  • Much less common; in this sentence it would sound odd.

• en campagne

  • Often means “on campaign,” especially politically or militarily (en campagne électorale).
  • It can mean “in the countryside” in some contexts, but that’s more literary or specialized and not what’s intended here.

So for the neutral idea “the house is in the countryside,” est à la campagne is the natural choice.

Does this sentence sound formal or normal? How might someone say this in everyday conversation?

La maison pour laquelle j’économise est à la campagne is correct and normal, but the pour laquelle structure can sound a bit on the formal/written side.

In everyday spoken French, people might say instead:

• J’économise pour une maison à la campagne.
  (“I’m saving for a house in the countryside.”)
• La maison que je veux acheter est à la campagne.
  (“The house I want to buy is in the countryside.”)
• La maison que je vise est à la campagne.
  (“The house I’m aiming for is in the countryside.” – more informal)

Your original sentence is perfectly good French, just slightly more “textbook” or written in style because of pour laquelle.